Saturday, January 28, 2006

Happy Birthday, Mozart!
It seems that there are always concerts going on at churches throughout Paris! On Friday evening we joined several hundred others in celebrating Mozart’s 250th birthday by attending a splendid concert at St Sulpice where a select group from the Paris Symphony Orchestra and a quartet of Opera singers, backed up by a choir of 60+ voices performed The Coronation Mass and The Requiem. If you can't get to a concert, or hear the church's famed organ, don't despair, St. Sulpice has a little something for everyone…. For fans of The Da Vinci Code - this is the church with the “Rose Meridian” running up the face of an obelisk, which serves as a reference point for Silas, Dan Brown’s albino monk. The church has been so besieged by DaVinci Code tourists that they have posted a sign, in four languages, disclaiming "a recent popular fiction” (without naming it) and explaining the “scientific application” of this meridian. The disclaimer also states that a pagan temple never preceded the church on this site and that the initials “P” & “S” refer to Peter and Sulpice, NOT to Priory of Scion. For art lovers and historians - the church offers frescoes by Delacroix. For people watchers - Catherine Deneuve, purportedly, lives in a large apartment just across the square and has been known to attend services at St. Sulpice as did Picasso's mistress and model Dora Maar. The church has also hosted the christenings of the Marquis de Sade and the poet Charles Beaudelaire as well as the marriage of author Victor Hugo.
For the shoppers – Yves St. Laurent, Christian LaCroix and others have small outposts in the adjacent square. And for serious cooks – La Cornue ovens are sold just around the corner; they can be ordered in a “Brilliant Black, Grey, British Racing Green or Ivory porcelain enamel colors with satin nickel or satin nickel/polished brass trim, or all stainless.” Be sure to bring your Master Card…they start at $8,000 plus shipping! Scroll down to see more market and neighborhood photos…

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